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Party Earth Review
Although situated just off the main Las Ramblas thoroughfare, Boadas is rumored to be the very first cocktail bar in Spain, so it would be hard to dismiss it as just another tourist trap.
The venue was opened in...
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Party Earth
Boadas
Review

The Scene

Boadas in Barcelona’s El Raval is Spain’s first cocktail bar, with bartenders ready to whip up almost anything. Kick off your Barcelona night with Party Earth.

El Raval, Barcelona –

Although situated just off the main Las Ramblas thoroughfare, Boadas is rumored to be the very first cocktail bar in Spain, so it would be hard to dismiss it as just another tourist trap.

The venue was opened in 1933 by Miguel Boadas, who cut his teeth working at Ernest Hemingway’s favorite Havana haunt, La Floridita, and whose mission it was to bring a dedication to proper drinking to Barcelona.

The dark and lived-in interior feels worlds away from any Ramblas kitsch, except perhaps for the photos of celebrity patrons interspersed in the collage of Boadas family portraits, letters, old newspapers, and other memorabilia that lines the walls.

Given the bar’s location, there are still plenty of tourists, but the venue’s underlying class makes it popular with political bigwigs and well-to-do local professionals, too, not to mention mature connoisseurs and successful colleagues who meet up for after-work drinks.

There’s no drinks list, but the tuxedo-clad bartenders know how to use the venue’s wide selection of Caribbean rums, Russian vodkas, and English gins to whip up classics and made-to-order originals with extravagant shakes, pours, and stirs.

Still a family-run watering hole, Boadas is ideal for kicking off a night on the town, and manages to remain popular without losing its historic character.

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Tip from Jonah:

Although there’s no drinks menu, Boadas does post a Cocktail del Dia, which you can always fall back on if you aren’t sure what to order.

Crowd

Well-to-do professionals, politicians, hard-drinking journalists, stylish pre-dinner groups, and plenty of tourists in all shapes and sizes, though ratty backpackers are definitely not the norm, mid-20s to late 40s.

Prices

What to Wear / Dress Code

There is no dress code, but shorts and flip-flops might elicit a glare or two from the regulars.

Hot Nights / When to Go

Any night for the history and the wide range of hooch.

Close By

Caribbean Club (Carrer de les Sitges, 5) is a tiny bar also run by the Boadas family, with wall displays of antique cocktail shakers and tuxedo-clad bartenders with an impressive selection of rum at their disposal.